Please turn in your Bibles this morning to I Peter chapter 4 as we look at serving for God’s glory. As I was going over this study I thought, what an honor it is for me to be married to Julie and serve her. What an honor it is to be a father and serve my children. What an honor it is to be a Registered Nurse and care for my patients. What an honor it is to be a pastor and serve you. And that list can go on but I think you get the point.
Now why do I do these things? What benefits are there that motivate me? Yes, there are benefits but that is not the reason I serve. You see, I serve for God’s glory, to bring Him glory in all that I do. Now, I am sorry to say I don’t always attain that goal with my wife, with my children, at work or even serving you, but that is my hearts desire. Folks, if you are serving for any other reason than to bring glory to God, you will soon find yourself angry, frustrated, dropping out, quitting and-so-on. But, if you are serving to bring glory to God nothing is going to get in your way of doing that, nothing is going to stop you because you are serving the King of kings and Lord of Lords!
Before we get to our text this morning, let me share with you this story that will help set the stage for what we will be studying. We are told:
Ruth went to her mailbox and there was only one letter. She picked it up and looked at it before opening, but then she looked at the envelope again. There was no stamp, no postmark, only her name and address.
She read the letter: Dear Ruth, I’m going to be in your neighborhood Saturday afternoon and I’d like to stop by for a visit. Love Always, Jesus.
Her hands were shaking as she placed the letter on the table. “Why would the Lord want to visit me? I’m nobody special. I don’t have anything to offer.” With that thought, Ruth remembered her empty kitchen cabinets. “Oh my goodness, I really don’t have anything to offer. I’ll have to run down to the store and buy something for dinner.” She reached for her purse and counted out its contents. Five dollars and forty cents.
“Well, I can get some bread and cold cuts, at least.” She threw on her coat and hurried out the door. A loaf of French bread, a half-pound of sliced turkey, and a carton of milk leaving Ruth with a grand total of twelve cents to last her until Monday. Nonetheless, she felt good as she headed home, her meager offerings tucked under her arm.
“Hey lady, can you help us, lady?” Ruth had been so absorbed in her dinner plans, she hadn’t even noticed two figures huddled in the alleyway. A man and a woman, both of them dressed in little more than rags. “Look lady, I ain’t got a job, ya know, and my wife and I have been living out here on the street, and, well, now it’s getting cold and we’re getting kinda hungry and, well, if you could help us, lady, we’d really appreciate it.”
Ruth looked at them both. They were dirty, they smelled bad and frankly, she was certain that they could get some kind of work if they really wanted to. “Sir, I’d like to help you, but I’m a poor woman myself. All I have is a few cold cuts and some bread, and I’m having an important guest for dinner tonight and I was planning on serving that to Him.”
“Yeah, well, okay lady, I understand. Thanks anyway.” The man put his arm around the woman’s shoulders, turned and headed back into the alley. As she watched them leave, Ruth felt a familiar twinge in her heart.
“Sir, wait!” The couple stopped and turned as she ran down the alley after them. “Look, why don’t you take this food. I’ll figure out something else to serve my guest.” She handed the man her grocery bag.
“Thank you lady. Thank you very much!” “Yes, thank you!” It was the man’s wife, and Ruth could see now that she was shivering.
“You know, I’ve got another coat at home. Here, why don’t you take this one.” Ruth unbuttoned her jacket and slipped it over the woman’s shoulders. Then smiling, she turned and walked back to the street without her coat and with nothing to serve her guest.
“Thank you lady! Thank you very much!”
Ruth was chilled by the time she reached her front door, and worried too. The Lord was coming to visit and she didn’t have anything to offer Him. She fumbled through her purse for the door key. But as she did, she noticed another envelope in her mailbox. “That’s odd. The mailman doesn’t usually come twice in one day.” She took the envelope out of the box and opened it. Dear Ruth, it was so good to see you again. Thank you for the lovely meal, and thank you, too, for the beautiful coat. Love always, Jesus.
- Source Unknown
Now how many of you believe that? How many of you believe that as you serve others you are serving Jesus? It is true, for Jesus tells us in Matthew chapter 25 starting in verse 31, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’” Matthew 25:31-40.
Not only that, but did you see how in that story we read that by just being available, by just being open to the Holy Spirit’s leading, we can bring glory to God in all that we do! With that said, let’s begin reading in I Peter chapter 4, starting in verse 7 and see what the Lord has for us as we look at SERVING FOR GOD’S GLORY!
Keep in mind that Peter is writing to Christians in Asia Minor or modern day Turkey who were being persecuted for their faith. Nero was the emperor in Rome and his persecution against Christians was spreading throughout the Roman Empire. In fact, within a few years of writing this letter Peter would be martyred for his faith and Paul was also going to be re-arrested and put to death by Nero!
Thus, the thrust of this letter is encouraging these believers to have a steadfast endurance in the midst of this persecution and to live exemplary lives in spite of the persecution. Now why is Peter calling them to live this way? Because, as they lived out their lives this way, it would bring glory to God.
In these verses we have read this morning, Peter makes four points in regards to how our serving can bring glory to God. In I Peter 4:7 Peter shows us how we can bring glory to God BY OUR ACTIONS. In I Peter 4:8 Peter shows us how we can bring glory to God BY OUR LOVE. In I Peter 4:9 Peter shows us how we can bring glory to God BY OUR HOSPITALITY. And in I Peter 4:10-11 Peter shows us how we can bring glory to God BY OUR SERVICE.
So let’s look at these four points because folks, we were created to bring glory to God. In Revelation 4:11, in the KJV we are told, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” Thus, true joy, true satisfaction in our lives is found as we do what we were created for, to bring glory to God, for His good pleasure. You see, many times our focus is off and our passion is to bring glory to ourselves, for our good pleasure and, to find that satisfaction. If that is where you are at this morning, please understand you will never find it until you come to God and have a passion to bring Him glory! Again, that is what we were created for and that is where our joy, our satisfaction is found, in Jesus and bringing glory to Him! So let’s see what we can glean from Peter here this morning, and may we leave here with a different attitude in our service, that it is God centered and when that is the case, we will love people and be filled with joy because we are doing what we were created for!
1. BY OUR ACTIONS – I PETER 4:7
If we truly believe God’s Word. If we truly believe we are living in the last days and the Lord can come back at any moment for His bride, the Church, then we need to live what we say we believe!
Peter tells us we need to be “serious” or “sober”. It is the Greek word, SOPHRONEO, (so-fron-eh’-o) and it speaks of being of sound mind or to be in one’s right mind. In other words, we are to be under the control of God’s Spirit and if we are we will not be carried away by all the things that are coming upon our lives or even thinking more highly of ourselves than we should! Paul puts it like this in Ephesians 2:1-3, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”
And Peter is telling us to put on the mind of Christ, to let the Spirit of God direct us so that we may live holy lives before God! How do we accomplish that? By reading and meditating upon God’s Word daily so we know the mind of God, we know the will of God. Paul makes that point in I Corinthians 2:10-16, “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.”
As we read God’s Word, as we pray, the Spirit of God through the Word of God will transform our minds, our will can be conformed to His will and as we live holy lives, we are bringing glory to God by our actions! Peter is admonishing these persecuted believers living in Asia Minor to get serious about their faith because the persecution against them was only going to intensify!
You see, as things heat up around us, we need to continue to focus on the Lord or we can become distracted, we can lose hope, we can be foolish in our actions. Suffering will come into our lives in a variety of ways, that is not the issue. The real issue is how we respond during those times because we can either bring glory to God by our actions or we can give the enemies of God a chance to mock God by our actions!
It is serious, we need to be watchful, pay attention to what is happening around us and to listen to God’s voice so we can be directed by Him! It is as Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:13-21, “But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.’ See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God.” Thus, BY OUR ACTIONS we bring glory to God!
2. BY OUR LOVE – I PETER 4:8
For the Christian, love seems to be the preeminent or the paramount characteristic they can manifest in their lives. In John 13:34-35 Jesus tells us, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” Now, as you look at some Christians, maybe even our own lives at times, that is not what you see. In fact, it is often hatred, condemnation towards those that don’t meet a certain standard, they are living in sin. Folks, the world is already condemned outside of Christ, they don’t need more condemnation, they need Jesus! We need to have that unconditional love, that sacrificial love because it shows people we are disciples of Christ!
Also, in Galatians chapter 5 Paul tells us that the fruit of the Spirit is love, that unconditional love, a love that is not based upon what the other person did or said. It is not based upon if they are worthy to receive it but upon the love that Christ has shown us. It is that love that is the fruit of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us that is then manifested in joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control!
In regards to Spiritual gifts, Paul tells us in I Corinthians chapters 12-14 the variety of gifts that are out there. And people focus so much on the various gifts, which are important, but they miss out on what Paul said is the heart of these things. Listen to what Paul said starting in I Corinthians chapter 12, and beginning in verse 31, “But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. . . .” I Corinthians 12:31-13:8a. You see, if these gifts are not exercised in love, then they are meaningless because these gifts are to be used to build up and it is hard to build people up if you don’t have love!
Now, here in I Peter 4:8 we are told, “And above all things have fervent love for one another, for ‘love will cover a multitude of sins.’” That word “fervent” is the Greek word, EKTENES, (ek-ten-ace’) and it speaks of stretching or straining your muscles, putting forth maximum effort in the task. In ancient Greek literature they used this word to describe a horse stretching out and running at full speed!
Folks, I have said this before but I believe it bears repeating. Love is not a feeling, it is an act of your will! Hollywood tells us just the opposite, they tell us love is a feeling, thus, when the feeling is going, so too is the relationship. But God tells us that if we want to manifest His love, then it will be an act of your will and folks, when our will conforms to the will of God, our love will be unconditional, it will be sacrificial!
And the point here that Peter is making is simple. When we have God’s love flowing in us and through us, we can forgive what others have done to us. “But you don’t know what they did to me!” Let’s turn that around for a minute. Look at what our sin did to our Lord, and yet while we were still sinners, God died for us! Thus, we are to forgive, we are to love as Christ forgave and loves us. As we love others, as we are stretched, do you know what that does? It brings glory to God because by our actions, by our love, people can see the love God has for them! Thus, BY OUR LOVE we bring glory to God!
3. BY OUR HOSPITALITY – I PETER 4:9
Do you reach out to people, do you look at how you can minister to them? And as you do, what is your attitude as you do? You see, we are not to grumble or complain about serving, we are to serve with a joyful heart.
The heart of this is seen as we put on the mind of Christ. Paul makes that point in Philippians 2:1-4 as he tells us, “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” We are to look out for others, watch over them, meet their needs and this goes far beyond physical needs. I believe it also speaks of spiritual needs. Look out for others!
Is this easy? Of course not, that is why we need to submit to God, to the Holy Spirit so that we then can submit to others. Paul, in Philippians 2:17-18 gives his life as an example of serving in humility as he tells us, “Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason you also be glad and rejoice with me.”
Often, service is seen in what we can get out of it and if it doesn’t benefit me, if it is too much, if it stretches us we don’t want to reach out and be hospitable. Paul tells these believers that he was willing to give his life for their spiritual well-being and keep in mind that Paul wrote that letter when he was in prison in Rome, not sure if they were going to put him to death or not. You see, if we put on the mind of Christ, He gave His life for others, for you and me, and we are to do no less.
Now some of you may feel inadequate, that you just don’t have the ability to do it. You might not, but by God’s power working in you and through you, you can be hospitable towards others. Let me give you an example of how something that is very small and very low powered you might say, can do mighty things. We are told:
In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon Jaroff in Time, the satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite before it could reach its target. But pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter’s immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun.
And despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals to Scientists on Earth. “Perhaps most remarkable,” writes Jaroff, “those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach Earth.” The Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible.
So it is when we offer ourselves to serve the Lord. God can work even through someone with 8-watt abilities. God cannot work, however, through someone who quits.
- Craig Brian Larson, Pastoral Frit: The Strength To Stand and to Stay
Thus, as we are empowered by the Spirit of God, we can be hospitable, we can accomplish all that God desires of us through Him. And we can bring glory to God BY OUR HOSPITALITY!
4. BY OUR SERVICE – I PETER 4:10-11
Each of us have been given grace gifts by God and these gifts we don’t put in our closet, we don’t hide them, we don’t keep them to ourselves. These gifts are to be used to edify, to build up the body of Christ. Paul, in I Corinthians 14:12 makes that point as he says, “Even so you, since you are zealous for spiritual gifts, let it be for the edification of the church that you seek to excel.” And in I Corinthians 14:26 Paul rebukes the utter chaos that was going on in the church there in Corinth as everyone was trying to use their gifts and it was disruptive, not edifying. Paul tells them, “How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.”
And if we don’t use these gifts, then this grace gift that was given to us by God was in vain. You see, it is as if grace was wasted because God’s grace gifts not only come to us, but they are also to move through us and touch the lives of others!
Now here’s the point. When we use these grace gifts that God has given to us they bring glory to God. You see, we don’t deserve them and we can’t take the credit for them, or manufacture these gifts on our own, but God alone can and does. He is the one that has not only enabled us to have these gifts but He has empowered us to use them! He is the energy source you might say! Thus, we can bring glory to God BY OUR SERVICE!
Now as you look at these four points, they seem to overlap. That is very true because that is how our life works, they all tie together as we bring glory to God:
May we have a passion to bring glory to God, for He alone deserves the glory. As I
begin to close this morning, let me leave you with this to think about, A SERVANT ATTITUDE. It goes like this:
People are illogical, unreasonable and self-centered. LOVE THEM ANYWAY
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish DO GOOD ANYWAY
ulterior motives.
If you are successful, you win false friends SUCCEED ANYWAY
and true enemies.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. DO GOOD ANYWAY
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. BE HONEST AND FRANK ANYWAY
The biggest men with the biggest ideas THINK BIG ANYWAY
can be shot down by the smallest men
with the smallest minds.
People favor underdogs, but follow only FIGHT FOR A FEW
top dogs. UNDERDOGS ANYWAY
What you spend years building may BUILD ANYWAY
be destroyed overnight.
People really need help, but may attack you HELP THEM ANYWAY
if you do help them.
Give the world the best you have and you’ll GIVE THE WORLD THE
get kicked in the teeth. BEST YOU HAVE ANYWAY
- John R. W. Stott, The Preacher’s
Portrait, Some New Testament Word
Studies, pp 100
Folks, it truly all boils down to this, as Jesus tells us in John 15:5-8, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.” God wants us to bear much fruit because it brings glory to Him and then, by our actions, by our love, by our hospitality, by our service, may we bring glory to God for He not only deserves it, He desires it and it is what we were created for!